>> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from corporations. what can we do for you?

>> and now, "bbc world news." the u.s. investigation into the gulf of mexico oil spill says a series of risky decisions caused the disaster. republicans take control of the house of representatives and vow to cut government spending. heightened tensions in lahore. welcome to "bbc news", broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. we have a special report from ivory coast. an escape for workers in the netherlands.

the commission set up to examine the gulf mexico oil spill is blaming the disaster on systemic failures of management. warning that a similar accident could happen in the future. the report says bp and its business partners made a series of decisions that reduced costs but in creased the threat of explosions. >> bp says it worked with the commission and cooperated with the inquiry drought but it said the findings of the inquiry will support bp's own internal investigation and they were not the only ones to blame. there were a number of other companies involved in this and

failures were made on parts of all those companies. >> what is the main thrust of this report? >> it is incredibly critical of the companies involved. i have a copy of the report here. most of the mistakes and oversights can be traced back to a single overarching failure. a failure of management. it levels that accusation of all those -- and all those companies as well as management. there was a failure of communication and when decisions were made, they were not communicated between the various companies operating on the red. on the number -- a number of occasions, rescu techniques were passed that could have saved money. >> could we expect further legal

challenges following this report? >> this report stands on its own as a historical account of what happened. the change in the legal consequences are already under way. we have seen a civil action taken by the attorney general here against numbers of companies, attempting to sue them for billions of dollars and a potential of criminal charges. the minerals management service, the organization whose job it was to oversee and regulate offshore deepwater drilling in the u.s. has been scrapped or in has been re-branded -- it has been re-branded. this report comes as a backup document which indicates a number of decisions which should have been taken. >> as far as reports and inquiries are concerned, will this put a line under this episode? >> the one that many people are

waiting for, a number of senior executives are waiting nervously for the estero be criminal charges. these companies are facing severe financial penalties. the possibility that anyone in the companies could be held directly to blame for this. 11 people died when the deepwater horizon drilling rig exploded. you have the potential of severe criminal penalties if criminal charges were to be brought. there remains to the scene -- it remains to sebe seen if that will happen. a number of parties were involved. >> a new congress has been convened in washington with the house of representatives in control of the republican party for the first time in four years.

the democrats lost power in september. the their majority was reduced in the senate. there speaker is john boehner. this report from our american editor. >> the republicans are the master, of congress at any rate. president obama will find it almost impossible to turn his plans into law. the hard politics were softened by the ceremony where children could watch their parents triumph. the new speaker is promising to give government back to the people. the most senior republican is known for the ease with which he weeps and he did not disappoint on an emotional day. >> i now pass this gavel which is larger than most here but the gavel of choice of mr. speaker john boehner.

>> maybe he wanted a big gamble to show how hard he intends to hammer president obama's program. >> we cannot kick the can down the road. the people voted and we began to carry out their instructions. >> those instructions they believe include repealing president obama's major achievement, health care. that could be blocked by the senate. introducing spending cuts and holding hearings into the conduct of what they branded the corrupt administration. >> qehud tea party demonstrators are as -- pew tea party demonstrators are as flamboyant as this. -- few tea party demonstrators our as flamboyant as this.

>> the new members want to change america's direction. >> my mission is to ensure that congress lives like every family in america. on a budget. >> the change at the white house. spokesman roy gibbs is leaving and that many will follow. there will be pious talk about working for the sake of the american people. the republicans and president obama are poles apart. the stage is set for a battle royal and the blame game that will prepare for the presidential election in 2012. >> huge crowds turned out in pakistan for the state funeral of salman taseer, the governor of punjab province. he was assassinated on tuesday. somthe murder piles uncertaintyn

the stability. our correspondent reports. >> thousands came to bid farewell to the liberal governor who dared to challenge extremists but paid with his life. there were full military honors for salman taseer. some called for a boycott of the burial and praised his killer. the self confessed assassin was greeted with cheers today. hthe guard shot salman taseer 27 times. his supporters chanting, you did the right thing. salman taseer became a target when he called for the release of a christian woman sentenced to death under pakistan's harsh

blasphemy laws. on the streets of the capitol today, we found some who said the governor deserved to die. this man told us he would have killed him himself if he had the chance. >> the assassination has left liberals in pakistan feeling even more isolated. the ferias -- fear is they will be silenced. >> people will speak with more hesitation in the aftermath of the assassination. people are afraid for their lives. people are afraid for their families and afraid for this country. most of all, people are afraid for the future. >> some more raising their voices today. they gathered where the governor

was killed, honoring his memory and his courage. >> the mood here is defiant. people are vowing to fight on. liberals in pakistan have been reminded how vulnerable they are. some say the assassination proof of a growing extremism and they are worried for pakistan and also for the west. there is a battle here, a fight for the future of the nation in crisis. the brutal killing of salman taseer has exposed deep divisions and heightened fears about where pakistan is heading. >> united nations peacekeeping chief plans to ask the security council to send two dozen more trips every cuts. he said it is needed to protect the headquarters of the

internationally recognized winner, alassane ouattara, who remains in a hotel. he is cut off by military checkpoints. our correspondent reports. >> an empty road as we head toward the besieged hotel. we're hoping to reach the men the world says is the rightful president of ivory coast. we need to get through the siege. we are stopped by forces loyal to laurent gbagbo, the man reluctant to give up the presidency. we are ordered out and one says, we will finish you, you'll never leave here. that was a very unpleasant scene. we were threatened with execution by laurent gbagbo's troops. we have made it through by road

to the besieged hotel. a surreal calm in the center of the storm. we were not allowed to film the troops guarding the hotel. in the lobby, the cabinet and president in waiting. they want this standoff resolved by outside military intervention. >> laurent gbagbo is not sincere, he has never been. he has never been up to his commitments. he wants to bring in arms, munitions, and mercenaries because he wants to continuously stay in office. >> this will end in war? >> it will not. it will be -- laurent gbagbo

has mercenaries, militias, and a few young people he has organized. there will come and take him away and all this will cease. >> will leit? across town, a rally for laurent gbagbo and a shorw of force. if foreigners in bed, he said, they will see how strong we are. if they attack us from abroad, we will deal with all foreigners living here. not a hint of compromise in the country drifting toward a violent showdown. >> stay with us. the royal wedding and more details are released about how the bride will travel to the abbey.

police in the english city of bristol are investigating the murder of joan yates. one of her socks are missing. she was found on christmas day. they are keeping antheir mind open about whether she was strangled with the sock that was missing. the british prime minister david cameron says it take control orders are not -- controllers are not perfect. they wilhe made that comments e. >> we need a system that keeps the country safe but if -- respect our freedoms. the system is not perfect, everyone knows that. the people who absconded, it has not been a success. i am confident we will get one.

there are -- this is not about victory. this coalition is about to parties coming together in trying to do the right thing for the country, trying to do the right thing for the security of our country and our civil liberties. i am sure the agreement will be reached and it will cover both those issues. >> an award winning firman decorated for bravery in -- fire man has been jailed in a money-laundering sting. there were sentenced to more than two ended years in jail together. the news of the world newspaper has suspended its military as part of that and it -- investigation of phone tapping. the action was the subject of litigation caused four years ago.

this is "bbc news." here are the headlines. the u.s. presidential commission to investigate last year's oil spill says the disaster was caused by a risky decisions aimed at saving time and money. the first session of the new u.s. congress has opened. the republican party said it will seek to cap spending. new figures show that global food prices rose their highest ever last month. the un is blaming a rise in the price of sugar and cereal and oil. food stocks are low and the warning of extreme weather conditions could push the cost of basics higher. i asked if the situation is desperate. >> the prices are definitely

high and there has been a rapid increase over the last six months for a number of commodities that you mentioned, put together the serial -- particularly cereals and rice. we are in a situation of record high prices. the situation is not yet really like it was in the food crisis of 2007 and 2008. it is a warning signal to pay close attention to what might happen in this current year. >> what is being done to help those who have been already struggling to buy food? >> depending on the country, a number of policies have been put in place and subsidies and support to farmers. it is important to remember at this point that the agriculture production in developing countries went up about 3.8%

last year. globally, this is the third highest cereal harvest we have had. production has been down in developed countries exporting. prices in many developing countries have not risen anywhere near the level that we see the wholesale global price. the situation becoming difficult for lots of poor families, it is not at a crisis level. >> a quick note on the adverse weather. how will that affect things? >> it is a major factor as we started to the agricultural year. there's not much room for error if we have a bad harvest and adverse weather or a disaster or drought, it could have very serious effects. >> you mentioned problems of

previous years when those riots occurred. can that be prevented? >> i think we do not know that we were -- it depends on what happens in the current production year. a number of things have been put in place in countries to avoid that kind of situation, learning from those incidents of two years ago. it is a very worrisome situation that is -- prices starting to spiral upward. they are at a higher level. >> the bodyguard of michael jackson has given details of efforts to revive the singer. the guard who has been giving evidence to determine if dr. conrad murray should stand trial. >> a debt accord brought an appearance by michael jackson's

sister janet. closest of his siblings. several family members came, including his parents. the fractioned jackson clan united. after this rehearsal footage, he was dead. today's evidence centered on his rented mansion and the chaos when he was found unconscious. a bodyguard said he froze on seeing him lying with his mouth and eyes open. he said he thought dr. conrad murray grabbing -- saw dr. conrad murray grabbing items and told them tohim to put thema sack before he called. he told the court he tried to help resuscitate the start but

the singer appeared dead. mr. alvarez said that one point, his children came into the room and his daughter paris screamed and started to cry. prosecutors accused dr. murray of using a powerful anesthetic to treat insomnia. they said he gave a lethal dose on the day he died. one of the paramedics said dr. murray did not mention he had given jackson propofol and said it was a different set of. -- sedative. he denied manslaughter and faces up to four years in prison if convicted. the jackson family left when the day was over. it could be up to two dozen more witnesses and the judge will decide if he stands trial. >> officials in the netherlands have been put on high alert after a fire at a chemical plants sent out a thick plume of

smoke. people had been warned to keep their windows and doors shut as fears of the smoke may be toxic. >> on a crisp winter's day in the southern netherlands, the blue sky and even the sun were choked with thick smoke. the cloud came from a blaze which started here in a chemical factory. with fire raging through thousands of liters of carcinogenic material, firefighters feared the worst. >> it is possible substances were released but concentrations are not yet known. as night filled, the fury of the flames became clear. they are reported to have wept as high as 40 meters. -- leapt as far as 40 meters.

the smoke has blown into a nearby city. residents were warned to stay inside and shut their doors and windows. local authorities say the smoke is not toxic but such a serious fire at a sensitive side will pose questions. the dutch city board has begun to investigate how it started. >> more details in the wedding of prince william and kate middleton. she will arrive at the ceremony by car in a break with tradition. >> they're both determined to keep control of the arrangements. william is anxious and should not be seen as a rerun of the wedding of his mother and father. while lady diana spencer went to her wedding in 1981 in a coach which traversed central london

to say paul's kasay drove -- st. paul's cathedral, kate middleton will travel by car to westminster abbey. william knows the abbey well. he was there a few months ago in the raf uniform he is expected to wear for his wedding commemorating the battle of britain. the abbey suited them because despite its grandeur and its thousand your connection with british royalty, wants to get to the -- once you get to the altar, it is surprisingly small and intimate. it was here more than 63 years ago that his grandparents, princess elizabeth and the duke of edinburgh were married. that took place at a time when people were suffering economic hardship. they are said to be mindful of current difficulties but aware that millions around the world are expecting a show. >> it is a television occasion.

we ari'm sure it will be celebrd in do style. >> after the service, they will board a horse-drawn carriage for the procession to buckingham palace. they will go up whitehall, across the mall. there will attend a wedding buffet and history will repeat itself. just as williams grandparents did in 1947, and as his parents did in 1981, the wedding will be sealed in the public's mind at least with an appearance on the palace balcony. for all the memories of the past, this royal couple were determined to make this day there's and to do it their way. >> that was our quarrel correspondent. that is our in is. -- our news.

>> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold, get the top stories from around the globe and click-to-play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations.

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